Crabbers snap up local delicacy

By Deshawn Carter and Krystina Geathers

Savannah, Ga. — The birds sang and the crickets chirped and the grass was high, moist and muddy.

The sun rose on the longest day of the year on the Savannah State University marsh. In some places of the marsh there are rocks and flowers sticking up from out of the high grass. Frogs and big black ants ran around the grass.

The marsh water is muddy, cloudy and dirty. However, it is a good place to find crabs. Before sunrise George Johnson, a maintenance mechanic at SSU, was heading down to the dock to get his share.

“I’m a fisherman and I love to fish,” Johnson said.

After dumping his crabs in a blue bucket, Johnson powerfully threw the box crab trap back into the salt-water estuary. There may be some controversy about the best times of the year to crab; it is often recommended to go crabbing during warmer temperatures.

The marsh is filled with many animals to eat, associate professor Dionne Hoskins-Brown said. “That’s why crabs are there.”

Crabs were consumed in different states before they came to Savannah. Slaves used crabs as their feast while they were getting hunted.

“It’s best to go crabbing during the spring and summer seasons,” said an employee at a local Bass Pro Shop.